May 31, and so passes another NZ Music Month. The best thing this time for me has been seeing so many different people picking up the ukulele and having a go. And so much has been happening throughout town too. I think we're so rich to have such a diverse range of good quality music in this space. So here are our final two videos to see out the end of NZMM2012, a couple of oldies but goodies:
We have six days of videos to catch up on! Ukulele classes are almost over. Our last one is tomorrow at Titirangi Library, where we'll do a special song for Samoan Language Week. And this Thursday at Zeal in Henderson, we will be awarding the Launch Your Lyrics finalists, followed by a free show from Rodney Fisher.
So here are six more favourites, including Tono & The Finance Company, who did a beautiful opening set at the Grey Lynn Library Hall on Saturday night:
The best reference query I had the other day was when a young Japanese guy asked for Superette's Tiger album, and for advice on other shoegaze-or-similar local bands. We flicked through the shelves and grabbed some Arch Hill & Flying Nun stuff, and did a whole lotta Youtubing. So here are three of our favourite videos from that exploration:
Superette: Killer Clown
Street Chant: Salad Daze
Mestar: Konked Out
In other news, Spotify is here! I just downloaded the app. Subscription music streaming. Check it out!
I love NZ On Screen. I've recently discovered their sweet collection of music videos, old and new. Here are three to finish of our third week of NZ Music Month. Make sure you check out the Dam Native clip.
We're halfway through NZ Music Month, and there seems to be a whole lot of goodness happening. Album release parties here & there, free downloads everywhere, etc etc.
So here we go: videos for today and the two before. These are all great - but look out for Bob Parker.
Our old mate Nicky made her way over the Pacific to Bellingham, Washington, USA. Just north of Seattle. And thanks to her, the Bellingham Public Library have a New Zealand Music Month 2012 display!
It's interesting how present, and even influential, our music has been in the seedy underbelly of great American music. I remember talking to a record store guy in Athens, Georgia who was crazy about Chris Knox. Look at Knox's "Stroke" album and you can see those influences. So today's video is dedicated to him.
So ukulele classes have gone pretty well so far. We've seen and heard some incredibly talented students. But no one has quite mastered Bach's Gavotte II yet. Jamie will be teaching it tonight at New Lynn Library. Get there if you don't want to be playing Mary Had a Little Lamb for the rest of your uke-life.
For Thursday & Friday: something great from Auckland, something great from Wellington.
It was a big weekend, with weddings & shows. And Home Brew debuted at #1!
So here are four favourites from the last couple of years, some beautiful songs with artistic direction thanks to the likes of Veronica Crockford-Pound and Joel Kefali.
Gig pick this week: Tono & the Finance Company & Cool Rainbows at the Lucha Lounge on Friday.
Today's contender, and one of our favourites here in the music department: Tha Feelstyle.
These guys have a very long-awaited album due in the next couple of months. They're really good at crafting some beautifully cinematic tunes.
Ok, I didn't know our pals at the NZ Music Commission were doing a video a day for NZMM as well. So for each video they post, we'll post a worthy adversary. Keep watching, and send in your suggestions in the comments for what we should post!
Today our contender is Upper Hutt Posse:
Sadly it's another end of an era, as Levon Helm passed away last night. The incredible multi-instrumentalist and head honcho of the hugely influential The Band was performing and recording regularly from his home in Woodstock, NY right up to his last days.
From Bob Dylan: He was my bosom buddy friend to the end, one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation. This is just so sad to talk about. I still can remember the first day I met him and the last day I saw him. We go back pretty far and had been through some trials together. I'm going to miss him, as I'm sure a whole lot of others will too.
To find out more about him, see his Allmusic page here.
Check out this video from the famous concert: The Last Waltz, and get it out from the library if you haven't seen it! The friends that they gather together on stage is an amazing testament to the character of Levon and The Band.
And see him here in his later years at the Ryman in Nashville with John Hiatt:
Many of you will know Helena Bonham Carter as the insane Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter films, some may know her as crazy Marla from Fight Club, or weird Elizabeth in Frankenstein. She's generally regarded as a babe of gothic cinema, and has kindly lent her character to Rufus Wainwright's latest music video, where she plays a librarian. Check it out:
My picks for this weekend:
Friday: The ARC with Submariner at Rakinos
Saturday: the very entertaining Dictaphone Blues & An Emerald City at Silo Park
Sunday is a tough decision, both these shows are going to be excellent:
The long awaited / much anticipated Cool Rainbows ‘Whale Rocket’ album release at Wine Cellar.
Southern Fried Sundays, featuring Alaska, Lisa Crawley & the Conversations and Tattletale Saints.
This post is way late, but it is Pasifika today at Western Springs!
It's not raining and it's free, so no excuses, get there now. Pasifika is one of the best eating experiences you will have this year.
And to top it all off, David Dallas is playing at 4.30! If you haven't already heard his album The Rose Tint, you're missing out on something brilliant. Check it out.
Well, the holiday season is almost over. For many it was an early start back to work, trying to face a computer screen again while wondering where the time and sun had gone, and where summer really was.
Rhythm & Vines, Coro Gold and High Life persevered through the storms as Warehouses around the country were emptied of gumboots and ponchos. It was a sure reminder that we are a Pacific island, and camping at the beach through January cyclones is a way of life.
Yesterday was Big Day Out in Auckland, and the weather looked ok out there. It will probably be the last. Though that has been said before, it seems a number of factors are sealing Big Day Out’s fate. Laneway, coming up on Auckland Anniversary Day, offers a more refreshing variety of new local and international acts, as well as Splore later in February, which features Erykah Badu. Not to mention the plethora of independent shows coming through over the next few months: Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle...
So, to celebrate the strange humid summer we’ve had so far, here’s a New Orleans song by John Hiatt:
While it is too late to join this orchestra, it looks like an amazing project worth checking out:
The New Orchestra Practices (NOP) group have been working on an audiovisual composition with music-minded amateurs and artists, using joysticks to control soundscapes. They will be performing their work on before the France – New Zealand rugby game this Saturday, 24 September at Auckland’s waterfront.
The concept involves gathering people from different ethnic backgrounds, music abilities, ages and social classes to collectively play sound and visual parts.
This inter-arts orchestra will perform pieces from both France and New Zealand. NOP.nz’s main goal is to bring together various audiences, cultures and artistic practices. NOP.nz Project began in New Zealand in April 2011. The project will return to France in 2012.
